thelaurenator

Thanks for pointing out Persephone! I didn't notice that one, but I love pomegranate AND rose so that's a must-try! I've also been eying up Helena... I need to get that one in my next order. Water lily and rose? OOOOOooooOOOO.

ACK! That sounds PERFECT. Ah, well. But of course it was LE.

Wet: Crisp orange soda. On skin: A bouquet of bitter neroli orange blossoms, ripe blood oranges, and a spritz of tangy raspberry juice. Dry, a few hours later: Darkens a bit to a kind of incensey blood orange blossom smell. Raspberry becomes much more faint. Was there a hidden sandalwood note in this blend? Because it smells like it after a few hours. I adore this. This is the second fruity scent I've tried in one day that doesn't turn to OMGLOLI'M15WEARINGCANDYPERFUME

In the bottle, this smells like a man's cologne (oh, 'sup bergamot? you're pretty manly). But on, it immediately transforms into a sexy, very womanly, full bodied woody rose smell. Intoxicating. The violet just makes the rosewood "headier" and fuller, and the musk yet again is playing nice. Me like. Me like VERY much! This is definitely a big bottle scent for me. Will need to purchase a 5 mL. Great sexy, going out in the dead of autumn/winter smell. Great throw on this, too. It really just EXPLODED when it hit my wrist!

Wet: Juicy cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Dry: Sweeter still juicy melons. Dry a few hours later: sweet, earthy spices and a hint of dew. Very pretty. I love this. It smells like real melons, but sweeter-- but not sickly sweet, like many BPAL fruit notes tend to turn on me.

Wet: Rose, mingling with spices. I believe I detect something like pepper? Also some herbal kind of spice, like bay leaf. Dry: More rose, less spice. Has a nice green, herbal undertone. Mostly just a gentle, "pink" rose smell. I love roses, so this is looooovely. It reminds me of my pink rose bush in the front yard.

Oh my god, this is LOVE. At first it's kinda too sweet, but it dries down to a spicy, resiny, vanilla lotus smell. AMAZINGGGG.

And thanks for all your suggestions!

Oh no! there was already a rose recommendation page? I searched but nothing came up! argh! mods please don't be mad!

My mom is looking for the perfect rose scent. I have a feeling she wouldn't like anything too stinky (anything with patchouli is a no-no). I know she loves white floral blends, so a true rose or a crisp pale rose might be best, but I'm open to suggestions, as long as it smells mostly like rose! Thanks so much!

I'm not sure why so many women love this scent. It is very masculine and cologne-y, at least on me. Normally I'm all about tea scents but this just smells like a guy.

Success! This is my boyfriend's favorite scent from the order. This scent smells soapy and clean, but not really that aquatic, even in the bottle. I can smell the almond and sharp benzoin, which gives it a girly, crisp edge. This scent is very feminine, but weirdly antiseptic. I think I like it, for summer. I just have to say, I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. This is nice... but not very oceany. **EDIT** I know what this is that's so summery but antiseptic. THIS SMELLS LIKE SUNSCREEN! The spray on, aerosol can kind. Hm. I kinda love this after extended drydown!

Wow, I love this one! My boyfriend isn't too fond of it, though. In the bottle: straight up lavender and spices. Yummo. On the skin, wet: LAVENDER, spicy and sweet. Dry: Watery, sweet lotus, spices, and a hint of lavender. Since I love lotus, this is great for me. I just wish there was a smidgeon more lavender on the drydown! I'm glad I gave this one a shot, though. It's a very pretty, watery scent.

Oh my GOD, this is vile. I smelled it in the bottle and literally gagged. Straight up patchouli and something like rotting wood or moss. Literally, I almost lost my lunch. But, being the intrepid BPALer that I am, I tried it on, hoping it would morph. It didn't. It now smelled like moldy incense sticks and rotting wood, with some cigarette ashes thrown in there for good measure. I would not recommend this to ANYONE. EVER. Male or female. This is one of the most repulsive smells I have EVER smelled. NO.

In the bottle, this was ALL lily and lilac, and something very lush and sweet underneath, I'm assuming dragon's blood. On, however, the lilac becomes a little powdery, though not in the bad way, and the lily all but disappears. The dragon's blood becomes sharp and metallic, with powdery lilac swirling around in it. This is rather lovely, but strange. I'm not sure what I think of it! It really, really morphed on my skin, and sadly, I liked it better in the bottle. Hmm. I'm giving it 2.5 stars out of five for now. I'll keep this around but I don't know how often I'll wear it. *Edit* I now love this! Upon extended drydown, it turns to pure, sweet lilac deliciousness. This is indeed a "radiant" perfume, as the lab describes it. A keeper!

Yet another freebie from the Lab! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED this one. LOVE. Wet, I get mint, then rose, and then a light tea scent-- white tea? Then a sprinkling of earthy herbs. The drydown is a powdery rose with that same herbal smell, and the minty tea recedes into the background. I never would have paired these notes together in my head, but wow. The rose just smells so lush, yet subtle. This is great. This might be a full bottle scent for the future! Again, something I never would have bought, but I love it.

A generous freebie from the Lab! I never would have ordered this for myself, but this is LOVELY. I get pale woods and pine forests, through a mist. There is also something sweet in the background, though for the life of me I can't figure out what. But it's gorgeous. I'm loving this! It smells like an otherwordly Christmas tree... and sandalwood, I think. I think that's what that familiar sweet smell is. This is beautiful. Just beautiful. And it even smells great on my skin! Because of that sweetness (amber, sandalwood?) in the background, this blend becomes distinctly feminine and lovely and really pops on my skin.

Interestingly enough, I get compliments whenever I wear Bess! People always ask me what smells good and then I tell them it's my perfume. I, too, think it's a throw issue. If you slather yourself in your BPAL, you might get more comments. Also, the dilution idea is a good way! Make some little parfums out of your oils and see what happens!

Hollywood Babylon and Bon Vivant were BOTH sticky-sweet strawberry on me. If that's what you're looking for, give them a try. I wasn't a fan.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! I'm waiting for my bottle of Thalassa now but I'll have to try some of the Lovecraftian blends...

What is everyone's favorite aquatic scent? I live in a beach town and I am literally a walk out the door away from the ocean, so I'd love some nice aquatic scents! I've tried many BPAL blends, and there are a few notes that have a precedent of turning foul on my skin-- most really resiny, incensey scents, most BPAL blends with vanilla, including Snake Oil, and anything with plum or strawberry. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to try anything with these notes, I am just wary of them. Fresh and clean tends to work well with me, most florals, and some sweeter orientals like Red Lantern. I really prefer distinctly "feminine" blends, as opposed to the more cologne-y smelling ones.

I think Kumiho is a really nice refreshing scent for summer. Very light. I also find it relaxing because of the white tea.

Definitely an acrid, eye-stinging, flaming scent. Not for the faint of heart, but it definitely is the essence of "fire."

Oh, this is lovely. A very well-realized Oriental. It's an incredibly sexy scent, but not for the faint of heart. This is a VERY in-your-face womanly scent.

I so badly wanted to love schezerade because I LOVE saffron. But it just smelled like icky incense on me. It's becoming difficult for me to tell which orientals will work on me, since I have very picky skin. This one didn't work on me so I had to hand it over to my oriental-loving friend. It smelled great on her EDIT I retried Scherezade today and have changed my mind about it. Here's my new review: Wet: WHOA MUSK. And spice. But mostly just bitter, bitter red musk. Dry: Soft breath of spice, and finally SAFFRON. I can definitely detect that sharp, tangy, luxurious smell anywhere. The red musk has finally taken its rightful place, in the back seat, to the other spices and saffron. Very pretty, but not that unusual except for the saffron.